Marcus Garrett scored 21 points and the Greensboro Swarm held off a furious fourth-quarter rally from the defending champion Stockton Kings to win Game 1 of the NBA G League Finals 111-107 on Wednesday at Novant Health Fieldhouse.

The host Swarm, a franchise that had never won a playoff game before this season, received contributions from across the roster. Terrell Brown Jr. scored 18 points, while Jaylen Sims and Tosan Evbuomwan each added 15. Liam McNeeley posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Greensboro played without PJ Hall, who is out with an ankle fracture.

DaQuan Jeffries led all scorers with 25 points and dished out six assists for Stockton. Dexter Dennis scored 24 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and Patrick Baldwin Jr. chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jon Elmore added 14 points.

Greensboro built a 14-point lead in the second quarter, but Stockton fought back. The Kings took the lead early in the final period behind a personal 10-0 run from Dennis, who gave Stockton a 94-90 advantage with 9:25 remaining. The teams traded baskets down the stretch until Garrett hit a go-ahead shot on a turnaround hook to put the Swarm up 106-105 with 2:24 left. The decisive blow came with 1:00 on the clock when Sims drained a 3-pointer to extend Greensboro's lead to four.

The Swarm dominated the glass, outrebounding the Kings 66-46, including a 24-11 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Up next: The Swarm will visit the Kings for Game 2 of the best-of-three series on Friday at 10 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPNU.

ESPN Generative AI Services creates recaps from event data and/or transcripts that are reviewed by human editors before posting; email support@espncustomercare.com for corrections.